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For the year, DIRECTV Latin America sets record with 4.4 million gross additions and 2.4 million net additions while Sky Mexico adds 1.1 million net new subscribers.DIRECTV U.S. adds 199,000 net new customers in 2012.DIRECTV Fourth Quarter Revenue and Operating Profit before Depreciation and Amortization (OPBDA) Growth of 8% Drive Full Year Revenue to Nearly $30 billion and OPBDA to over $7.5 billion.

199,000 net new customers in 2012? Not's not good right? I thought it would be more than that with all the 'Genie' fanfare.

Compared to last year, nope not a great number, but as others have said, better then a loss. A bright note is that churn went down .09% from the prior quarter and they're over 20 million subs in the US.

Compared to last year, nope not a great number, but as others have said, better then a loss. A bright note is that churn went down .09% from the prior quarter and they're over 20 million subs in the US.

But if you look at what D* has said is their long term strategy....the lower net sub adds in 2012 was expected.

199,000 net new customers in 2012? Not's not good right? I thought it would be more than that with all the 'Genie' fanfare.

Didn't the Genie marketing start in the 4th quarter? It looks like most of the net adds occurred in that quarter.

With that said, I think that for most people, the equipment is not a significant game changer between providers. The local cable company offers and markets a whole home package as does Dish. I think Directv's offering is head and shoulders above the cable company's offering but I bet, for the average person, the cable offering is "good enough" and is $20 cheaper. It'd be different if Directv was the only one offering a whole home solution, but they aren't.

199,000 net new customers in 2012? Not's not good right? I thought it would be more than that with all the 'Genie' fanfare.

Most distributors are losing subscribers....cable especially and DISH has been up and down the last few years. The Telcos have slowed as well and are not building out their footprint. The US is a mature television market now. D* announced early last year that pursuing gross adds in a way that was done in the past was going to change. Adding customers is still important, but equally important is adding the right kind and not just chasing a number. It's an expensive proposition to add customers and it takes several years to recoup that investment. So more than ever companies like D*, Dish, etc have to be smart about how much they spend to add customers and who they go after.

BTW: 20 million subscribers includes "commercial equivalent viewing units" ... a calculation that converts commercial accounts into subscribers. If one is picturing 20 million homes with DirecTV service one is not seeing an accurate picture.

BTW: 20 million subscribers includes "commercial equivalent viewing units" ... a calculation that converts commercial accounts into subscribers. If one is picturing 20 million homes with DirecTV service one is not seeing an accurate picture.

No hate ... I've just heard the x million homes thing too often. I'd like to think that the people on our site can be better educated than that. Some people read just the snips posted online, others read the press releases linked, others actually read the SEC filings with the details. "Commercial equivalent viewing units" have been in the SEC filings for years and yet I still see people talking as if every subscriber was an individual home or business.

No hate ... I've just heard the x million homes thing too often. I'd like to think that the people on our site can be better educated than that. Some people read just the snips posted online, others read the press releases linked, others actually read the SEC filings with the details. "Commercial equivalent viewing units" have been in the SEC filings for years and yet I still see people talking as if every subscriber was an individual home or business.

Let's just say that DirecTV has far, far....far more customers than Dish and leave it at that. Probably, I would guess, in the neighborhood of 19 million residential and around 1 million commercial.

BTW: 20 million subscribers includes "commercial equivalent viewing units" ... a calculation that converts commercial accounts into subscribers. If one is picturing 20 million homes with DirecTV service one is not seeing an accurate picture.

BTW: 20 million subscribers includes "commercial equivalent viewing units" ... a calculation that converts commercial accounts into subscribers. If one is picturing 20 million homes with DirecTV service one is not seeing an accurate picture.

I wonder why they just can't say # of accounts? seems like an easy number to come up with. That to me would get you the closest to a useful number here.

I think it is more accurate to count like they are doing now.
If the stores / bars/ etc. are paying a lot more for the service than a household does it stands to reason that more people are watching it.

Sounds like going forward DirecTV will be busy. Continuing to invest in infrastructure improvements for the TV Everywhere initiative for one.

Something I've noticed is that TV Everywhere, (at least the live TV on iPad/iphone) is only HD channels. Maybe more channels will go to HD and that is the prerequisite to get its feed split out and over to the TV Everywhere system. Mike White also said "increase the penetration of our new Whole-Home Genie service and continue to improve our world-class user interface across all devices, with a special emphasis on search, Discovery and social networking. And with the future in mind, we're also investing in satellites, related broadcast infrastructure and developing foundational technologies to ensure we continue to deliver the best and highest quality video experience possible."

To me that says:-Free or outstanding upgrade incentives for Genie (both New and current subs)-Look for more channels available for live streaming.-Look for continuing improvements to the UI on the set top and mobile apps.-Look for potential new TV Apps system that harnesses Social Networking.-Future in mind.. MPEG2 is NOT the future. If enough people upgrade maybe we can finally think about phasing out MPEG2?-Look for more HD as it is the highest quality video experience possible.

Probably, I would guess, in the neighborhood of 19 million residential and around 1 million commercial.

And there is an example of missing the meaning of "commercial equivalent viewing units" ... unless you're saying DirecTV has 19 million residential accounts and 1 million "commercial equivalent viewing units".

I wonder why they just can't say # of accounts? seems like an easy number to come up with. That to me would get you the closest to a useful number here.

The DBS services do not break down their subscribers by package either. It would be interesting to see how many million were are at each level ... especially before and after price changes. With posts from people who said they downgraded because of the price increase it would be interesting to see the trend.

But the services don't provide breakdowns ... even between residential or commercial.

curious, how does Dish count subscribers?

Since you asked: DISH also uses a calculated number which is described as "substantially smaller than the actual number of commercial units served". The method of calculation is included in their quarterly/annual reports.

And there is an example of missing the meaning of "commercial equivalent viewing units" ... unless you're saying DirecTV has 19 million residential accounts and 1 million "commercial equivalent viewing units".

The DBS services do not break down their subscribers by package either. It would be interesting to see how many million were are at each level ... especially before and after price changes. With posts from people who said they downgraded because of the price increase it would be interesting to see the trend.

But the services don't provide breakdowns ... even between residential or commercial.

Since you asked: DISH also uses a calculated number which is described as "substantially smaller than the actual number of commercial units served". The method of calculation is included in their quarterly/annual reports.

Subscriber Count. The total number of subscribers represents the total number of subscribers actively subscribing to our service, including subscribers who have suspended their account for a particular season of the year because they are temporarily away from their primary residence and subscribers who are in the process of relocating and commercial equivalent viewing units.

From 1Q 2008:

Subscriber Count. The total number of subscribers represents the total number of subscribers actively subscribing to our service, including seasonal subscribers, subscribers who are in the process of relocating and commercial equivalent viewing units. In March 2008, we implemented a change in DIRECTV U.S.' commercial pricing and packaging to increase our competitiveness. As a result, during the first quarter of 2008, DIRECTV U.S. made a one-time downward adjustment to the subscriber count of approximately 71,000 subscribers related to commercial equivalent viewing units.